Since this is a food AND wine conference, I'd be remiss if I didn't add wine to my recipe.

I really like wine. Not as much as beer, but I really enjoy drinking.
One cup in the recipe and one cup for the chef. Drink. Drank. Drunk. I may or may not be
tipsy while typing this. Just kidding! I will save my drinking for
post-blog writing.

My original plan was strawberry jam, rose water and red wine. I scrapped that plan early on. Rose water is very exotic and expensive. And even though I have plenty, I wanted to create something with a wide appeal. I thought long and hard about how to incorporate wine into this recipe. I didn't want to add wine to the batter and mess with the texture of the brownie. The only brownies I ever make are pumpkin cream cheese brownies at Halloween time. K.I.S.S. and go with what you know! So cream cheese became the vehicle for all of the flavor, ribboned through this chocolaty delight!

Dixie Crystals corporate chef, Eddy Van Damme, will be judging this recipe. All of the recipes. And then he'll select the winning recipe from all eligible entries.

To make the red wine reduction: Place 1 cup red wine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes).

Place wine in a bowl; let come to room temperature.

Spray with baking spray or lightly grease and dust with flour, a 9x13 in. pan and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Make the cream cheese: Place the cream cheese in a standing mixer and beat until fluffy. Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 cup red wine, 1/4 cup strawberry jelly and 1 Tablespoon of flour to the bowl. Mix that up until all smooth. Set this aside while you prepare the brownies.

Make the brownies: Mix together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Mix together the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and flour in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients by whisking until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips (if using). Pour one-half of the batter into the pan.

Use a knife or an offset spatula to spread the batter into corners of pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over the batter and then pour the additional half of brownie batter over the cream cheese. Swirl the batters together decoratively with the tip of a knife or spatula.

Bake for about half an hour (between 26 and 30 minutes). Test brownies before removing from the oven. Stick a toothpick in the center of the pan. Ready = toothpick is clean with a few moist crumbs. Not ready = the toothpick has batter clinging to it. Overbaked = toothpick comes out completely clean.

I love this recipe and have made these brownies several times. Your rosewater idea intrigues me! You can get rosewater inexpensively at many Middle Eastern grocery stores (I regularly get it for $1.50 for about 10 ounces.

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About Me

Nikki Miller-Ka is a professional food blogger and food critic based in North Carolina. She writes and bites about local and regional restaurant trends, solo travel and develops original seasonal recipes here on Nik Snacks.
In addition, she is the food editor at Triad City Beat newspaper, the Casual Dining columnist in the Greensboro News & Record and tour guide for Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours.
Miller-Ka was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu College Of Culinary Arts in Miami and holds degrees in English from East Carolina University. Formerly, she’s been a judge for the James Beard Foundation, featured in Southern Living Magazine & New York Magazine, worked an editorial assistant, news reporter and guest blogger for various publications and outlets in the Southeast. She has worked as a catering chef, a pastry chef, a butcher, a baker, and a biscuit-maker.